Missile shocks Japan

MILLIONS AWAKE TO WARNING TEXTS: CITIZENS TOLD TO TAKE COVER

North Korean weapon soars over north of country, escalating tensions.

Millions of Japanese awoke yesterday to ominous text messages warning them to take cover as a North Korean missile flew overhead, with one train operator bluntly explaining its halted service as: “Reason: Ballistic missile launch.”

Sirens blared in northern communities that were on the flight path of the ballistic missile as it soared over Japanese territory for two minutes before crashing into the Pacific.

“Missile passing. Missile passing,” warned an official text message sent to people across the north of Japan. “If you find suspicious objects, please don’t go near them and immediately call police or firefighters.

“Please take cover in secure buildings or underground.”

North Korea’s launch towards neighbouring Japan – a key US ally and Korea’s former colonial overlord – marked a major escalation by Pyongyang amid tensions over its weapons ambitions.

Morning commuters in northernmost Hokkaido were greeted by warning signs at train stations, bringing rail services to a halt.

At one metro station in Sapporo, a city of nearly two million, passengers were warned about delays. “All lines are experiencing disruption,” said one sign. “Reason: Ballistic missile launch.”

Japan yesterday deployed a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile defence system at a US military base in Tokyo as part of a previously scheduled drill.

But North Korea yesterday defended its right to take “tough counter-measures” in response to what it called US aggression.

The test launch triggered an angry response from Japan. A visibly unsettled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was an “unprecedented, serious and grave threat”, while the UN Security Council called an emergency meeting at Tokyo and Washington’s request.

But North Korean ambassador Han Tae-Song, addressing the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, said his country had the right to react. “Now that the US has openly declared its hostile intention towards DPR by raising joint aggressive military exercises despite repeated warnings ... my country has every reason to respond with tough counter-measures.” –

Picture: AFP SCHEDULED TEST. Soldiers from the Japan Air Self-Defence Force set up PAC-3 surface-to-air missile launch systems during a temporary deployment drill at US Yokota Air Base yesterday. About 50 Japanese servicemen took part in the drill.